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Religion in Morgan County
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learn about Martinsville's churches, click
here.
One
of the first institutions established in a newly settled area was religion.
While there were no formal churches in which to worship, the settlers
gathered in private homes for services usually conducted by itinerant
preachers or circuit riders sent from established churches in neighboring
areas.
As a region developed,
congregations became more organized and formal church buildings were
constructed. Typically these early church buildings were crude log
structures that were gradually replaced with simple frame buildings. Often
these structures were the only public buildings located outside the villages
so that they became multi-functional, being used as schools and public
meeting places for the rural community. In many cases, a single church
building was shared by several different congregations. Eventually, as
congregations grew larger and wealthier, church buildings were replaced with
more elaborate structures.
The state's earliest
churches were established by French Catholic missionaries in southern
Indiana. They were soon followed by the Baptists and Methodists, which
developed as Indiana's two dominant religions. Both churches were well
established in the South where many of Indiana's earliest settlers
originated. The Methodists and the Baptists also provided lay preachers in
contrast to other congregations that depended on churches in the east to
send trained clergy. Until the 1860s, Indiana was considered a missionary
field for such sects as the Presbyterians, Christians and Catholics. Sparse
population, poor transportation and lack of clergy severely limited the
number and attendance of religious services.
As the railroad reached
further into Indiana, more congregations were established, especially in
towns and cities. Larger, more expensive churches were built, replacing the
modest frame buildings erected only a few years before. The rise of the
state's urban areas during the early- twentieth century continued the growth
of organized religion in Indiana, as congregations supported increasingly
larger churches. Although the number of church buildings has decreased in
recent years, especially in rural areas, religion remains an important and
active part
of the state's heritage.
Morgan County's early
settlement and relative isolation is reflected in the number of rural
churches still found throughout the county. Because the railroad, with its
accompanying development, never reached many of the county's townships,
rural congregations were less likely to merge and relocate to a town. As a
result, many of these mid-nineteenth century rural churches remained in use
and today continue to serve the descendants of their original congregations.
As in many other areas of
the state, the Methodist Episcopal was among the earliest congregations to
organize in Morgan County. This is reflected in two remaining structures.
The Poplar Grove Methodist Episcopal Church in Gregg Township is possibly
the county's oldest extant church. Built in 1849, this building has suffered
few alterations. The Mt. Nebo Methodist Episcopal Church in Jackson Township
was completed c.1852, with an addition in 1870.
A strong Friends presence
in northern Morgan County is represented by two early meeting houses. The
Bethel Friends Meetinghouse in Brown Township and the West Union Friends
Meetinghouse in Monroe Township were built between the years 1856-1868 and
are still in use.
In Mooresville, the
Friends built the Academy Building, a boarding school, in 1861. The building
still exists as an important landmark in the community.
The gradual migration of
the population from a rural to an urban lifestyle, the merging or decline of
rural congregations, and the cost of maintaining church buildings have had a
negative impact on religious structures in recent years. As the number of
abandoned or underutilized buildings increase, the challenge of preserving
and reusing these churches becomes more imperative.
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